


When Life Gives You Lemons, You Cuddle With Your Crush

by AttentionDeficitDumbass



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti), IT - Stephen King
Genre: ADHD, Best Friends, Eddie Kaspbrak Has ADHD, Eddie Kaspbrak Has a Crush, Eddie Kaspbrak Loves Richie Tozier, Eddie Kaspbrak is a Mess, Eddie's Medications, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gay Eddie Kaspbrak, Gay Richie Tozier, IT (2017)-compliant, IT - Freeform, M/M, Medication, Movie: IT (2017), Oblivious Eddie Kaspbrak, Post-IT (2017), Richie Tozier Loves Eddie Kaspbrak, Richie Tozier is a Good Friend, Richie Tozier is a Mess, Soft Richie Tozier, Stephen King - Freeform, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, its soft i swear, slowburn but not really, they're gay karen - Freeform, why's there a clown in my gay slowburn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-12
Updated: 2019-10-12
Packaged: 2020-12-13 17:47:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21001679
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AttentionDeficitDumbass/pseuds/AttentionDeficitDumbass
Summary: Eddie is normally pretty smart, and pretty competent. But Richie learns that apparently that doesn't last long once the sun sets, and honestly he really doesn't know if he should keep copying Eddie's answers on the homeworkThe title is last minute, I swear the fic is good.





	When Life Gives You Lemons, You Cuddle With Your Crush

**Author's Note:**

> Un-beta'd, sorry in advanced

They hadn’t planned to stay at Eddie’s that late. Richie was supposed to go home hours ago, but listen, homework took a long time. It wasn’t their fault. Granted the four hours of screwing around with Stan and Bill hadn’t helped. They were supposed to go to Eddie’s, do homework, exchange answers, and then go home. Bill left first as storm clouds had started to gather ominously over the house, saying something about his parents not trusting him out in the rain anymore. Stan left second, saying his parents wanted him home for dinner and that he didn’t really feel like getting sick. So it was just Richie and Eddie.

They goofed off, fucking around instead of actually doing the homework, at least for as long as they could get away with it. They had been screwing around, and Richie had thrown something at Eddie, resulting in an impromptu game of dodgeball with Eddie’s pillows. Eddie got smacked in the face with a pillow and was about to throw it back, laughing and grinning, playing along and making Richie’s heart flutter with each sly smile thrown his way, which was shortly accompanied by a muted thump and a pillow hitting him. Eddie paused, frowning and looking at his watch as it beeped loudly and insistently. He shut it off and swore under his breath, putting down the pillow and gathering up his books and papers. 

“Aw come on, don’t be a sore loser, it’s not your fault you have a terrible throwing arm” Richie joked, grabbing the pillow, about to lob it at Eddie.

“Screw off Tozier, we have work to do,” He replied, a slight smile creeping onto his face, before dropping again. Richie frowned and tilted his head, dropping the pillow and trying to figure out what spurred the sudden change in his best friend.

“Suddenly got your period or something?” he asked as Eddie dumped all his books onto the desk under the window in his room.

“On a time limit, I gotta get it done,” was the muttered response as Eddie opened his books with a loud clatter, sitting on the wooden chair, and turning away. Richie sighed and grabbed his pencil, and grabbing his science homework to get onto first, working slowly and silently.

It was quiet for another hour before rain started pattering against Eddie’s window loudly, accompanied by the whistling of the wind, which had picked up. Eddie didn’t say anything, didn’t move a muscle other than the hurried writing as he rushed to finish his work, until finally another hour later he stood abruptly.

“Done!” he shouted, laughing a bit and checking his watch. Time to spare. He smiled at Richie, who was on the floor, homework spread out around him, and looking up at him in confusion.

“Good for you?” He said, shrugging, watching as Eddie picked up the sheets of paper, and stacking them neatly, before handing them to Richie. 

“Don’t make it too obvious. Mrs. Spader caught on last time dumbass,” he said, still exceptionally proud of himself, beaming and almost preening. It was exceptionally obvious and Richie wasn’t complaining.

“Yeah yeah, shut up,” Richie said, smiling a bit. Eddie finally looked out the window and grimaced, watching as lightning flashed, lighting up the sky and his dark yard quickly, followed by a loud rumble that nearly shook the house. The rain was coming down hard, streaming down the window in sheets, as the trees bent over wildly in the strong wind.

“Christ, I did the work through all this shit?” he asked, turning to Richie, who looked up and nodded. “You shouldn’t go home in this, you’ll definitely get sick,” he said after a second, looking between his friend and his window. The thought of Richie leaving in that weather and getting sick made Eddie really nervous. He didn’t like his friends getting sick or hurt, especially Richie. 

“Do I even have a choice?” Richie asked, shrugging. “I’ll just bike home fast. Not that hard. Besides, not everybody has the immune system of an infant Eddie.” He added, Eddie kicking him gently in retaliation, glaring at him playfully.

“Shut up, I’m serious. My mom probably won’t let you go home in this weather anyways.” He said. “Just call your parents, we can use the phone downstairs,” he added, gesturing to the door, which had been left ajar upon his mom’s request. She was like that whenever anybody came over. “Come on, it’s Saturday, you can stay the night and chill, then you can come with us to church and then we’ll take you home,” he said, pleading a little, smiling at Richie, hoping he’d agree. He’d never had a friend stay the night before, and he wanted to know what a sleepover was like. He’d never been allowed to stay overnight anywhere other than in his own bed. He’d missed out on a lot, and he wanted to at least have this, even if his medication was going to wear off soon.

“Fine,” Richie sighed, rolling his eyes and getting up. “Only because you asked nicely,” he teased, elbowing him and letting Eddie lead the way downstairs. His mom was where she always was, sitting in the living room, smoking a cigarette. The room stunk of the acrid smoke, and there was an immediate shift in Eddie as he stepped into the living room. He looked a lot smaller, a lot more vulnerable. Scared almost.

“Mama?” he asked softly, poking his head in, and looking at her. He waited a minute for her to respond. She finally turned her head after a long pause. “Can Richie stay overnight?” he asked tentatively, suddenly unsure, despite it being his idea in the first place. “It’s raining really hard, and we’ve got a test on Monday, so he can’t miss any school” he lied, hoping the threat of him getting a cold would be enough to persuade her.

His mom looked over at Richie and scowled, eyes raking up and down him as he stood behind Eddie. She was suddenly a lot more intimidating, she looked like she could see every secret he had. It was unnerving.

“Fine. Use the phone in the hall, make sure his parents know. They don’t need to be worried all night, and I don’t need police at my door.” She responded. Eddie’s face lit up and he turned to Richie excitedly.

“Thanks mama!” He said, turning to go.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?” His mom croaked from the living room. Eddie froze and his smile faltered. He suppressed a sigh and walked over, kissing his mom on the cheek. “Thank you. Your dad won’t be home tonight, so feel free to use the cot in the basement” she said, though Eddie knew it wasn’t a suggestion. She was adamant about nobody else being allowed in his bed, especially at night. He didn’t want to know what her response would’ve been had he asked if Beverly could come and do homework, let alone sleepover. He quickly turned and rushed over to Richie, dragging him to the phone and smiling at him, holding his wrist, not even really realizing. 

Richie dialled his parent’s phone number, eyes drifting down to the hand still holding onto his wrist and smiling a bit more, looking at Eddie before gently slipping his arm out of his friend’s grip. They answered the phone after a moment, and he asked, using the same excuse Eddie had about the fake test on Monday. They agreed, and told him to make sure he was home at a reasonable time the next day. He hung up and turned to Eddie, nodding. Eddie grinned and mouthed a silent cheer, dancing around a little in triumph. He’d conned the system, and flawlessly too. 

They headed back to Eddie’s room, where Richie plopped himself into the desk chair, grabbing Eddie’s finished and his own unfinished homework, sorting it and beginning to copy off of the other’s homework. Even with the answers it took a while, Richie bent over the papers, and trying to get it all done, talking with Eddie and occasionally launching a highlighter at the other. He got it done fairly easily though, getting up and sitting in the chair backwards, looking at Eddie sitting cross-legged on the bed, who’d grabbed a notebook and was scribbling in it slowly, waiting for him to finish up. Eddie had spaced out, and was just moving the pencil back and forth on the page, staring at it blankly, face slack. Richie watched for a minute, waiting to see if he would realize but he didn’t.

“Eddie? Eds, dude you alright?” He called, leaning forward and waving a hand in front of his face. Eddie started and looked up, eyes looking fogged over. He had started to lean over, eyes drooping a bit. 

“What?” he asked, frowning and blinking a few times.

“You were just staring into space, I wanted to see if you were alright,” Richie said, laughing a bit. “What, is it past your bedtime or something?”

“Shut up trashmouth,” he replied, smiling a bit. He yawned quietly, and blinked a few times again. He looked like he was about to fall asleep on the spot. “You want to uhhhhh,” he trailed off, frowning and thinking for a few seconds. “Go play some street fighter?” he finally finished after a minute. Richie frowned a bit before nodding and agreeing. They went down into the basement, Eddie pulling Richie into a room. In it was a television with a few game consoles scattered in front of it, and a couch pressed against the wall. The floor was a weird carpet that wasn’t nearly long enough to be comfortable. There was also a fridge in the corner.

Eddie crouched in front of the TV, staring for a long minute, before mumbling to himself and starting to set up the console, putting in the game, and grabbing the controllers. Richie had settled onto the couch, watching him move slowly and lethargically. Something was very off about the way he was acting. It was weird, normally he had almost too much energy to handle, and now all of a sudden he was half asleep. At least it answered his question of whether Eddie actually slept.

Eddie joined him, settling beside him, handing him a controller and letting him set everything else up and navigate the menu, trying to keep his eyes open. He didn’t even realize the game had started until Richie nudged him harshly. He looked at the screen and yelped, swearing and rushing to actually fight back. They played three rounds, Eddie having to be reminded of several controls, before Richie finally stopped. 

“What is going on with you? You suck normally sure but never this much,” he said, turning to face him. Eddie shrugged and yawned again.

“Nothing,” he mumbled, very clearly struggling to stay awake.

“Whatever you say man,” Richie replied, shrugging. “You know you don’t have to play right? I’m gonna whoop your ass regardless but your game is real weak right now,” he said. Eddie immediately put down the controller, thanking god he didn’t have to concentrate on anything. He could practically feel his brain melting and running out his ear. He knew this would happen but normally he’d just eat some food and have a nap. He didn’t really have that option.

Richie played single player for a while, occasionally looking over at Eddie, who had turned to the side and curled up, head leaning against the back of the couch and looking at the window at the top of the wall. He didn’t seem to notice when Richie would glance at him, so he chanced a few longer looks, a bit more often than he really should’ve. The sky grew ever darker as they continued on like that, Eddie turning his attention to the screen after a while, though his eyes were glazed over and he didn’t really seem to see much. It was a little endearing. After a while he did straighten up a little.

“Hey you want….uhhhh something from the uhhhh….the thing?” Eddie said, looking at him, frowning in concentration.

“What thing? You gotta be a little more specific there Eds” Richie said, laughing a bit.

“You know...the thing, it uhhh….fuck, what’s it called?” he asked, looking to Richie for help before desperately trying to describe it to him. “The thing, that uhhh….fucking uhh box, it’s in the kitchen?” he asked.

“Cabinet? Drawer? Eddie there’s a lot of shit in the kitchen,” he replied.

“No, the uhhhh…...cold rectangle” he finally spat out, looking to Richie again for help, cheeks red in embarrassment. 

“The fucking fridge?” Richie asked, bursting into laughter and shaking his head at the other.

“Yeah! That one!”

“You sure I should’ve copied off of you for the homework? I need to know while I still have time to copy off Bill,” he laughed, calming down a little. “How do you forget the word for fridge?” he asked. “And they say I’m the stupid one,” he added.

“Shut up,” Eddie replied, smiling a bit and shoving him gently. “I’m tired okay?” he added.

“That’s not just tired, that’s being a moron,”

“Takes one to know one” 

“Yeah whatever. Sure, if that’s okay,” Richie replied smiling. 

“Alright, I’ll grab some stuff from the fridge and bring it down,” Eddie said, getting up. Richie went back to the game and started playing for a bit. But Eddie didn’t come back down. He frowned and waited several more minutes before sighing and getting up. He went upstairs and looked into the kitchen, to see Eddie frowning at the bread and other stuff he’d obviously brought out of the fridge. 

“What was I doing?” he muttered, frowning at the lunch meats, cheese and mayonnaise in confusion. “How do I…. what?” he mumbled, picking up the loaf of bread and staring at it as if it’d tell him.

“Judging by what you have out I’d say you make a sandwich out of it,” Richie chimed in, stepping beside him. “You sure you’re okay?” he asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Am I ever?” Eddie joked, getting a pity laugh from Richie.

“No, good point. Give me a sec here” he said, starting to make the sandwiches instead, figuring whatever was up with Eddie wasn’t good. He handed Eddie his, and they put away the stuff, Eddie momentarily forgetting where the bread box was. They ate the food, standing there in the kitchen, and Eddie finished his first.

“I’ll go grab some blankets and pillows and stuff and we can pull out the bed downstairs,” He said, walking off before Richie could say anything, grabbing the stuff from a nearby closet and darting downstairs. He sighed and shrugged, finished his sandwich, leaning against the counter. After a moment Mrs. Kaspbrak came into the kitchen, putting out her cigarette in an ashtray by the sink, and looking into the pantry. Richie frowned and looked over at her, swallowing the lump in his throat.

“Mrs. K?” he asked.

“Yes?” She asked, turning to him, looking a bit surprised.

“Why’s Eddie acting so weird? He’s really tired all of a sudden and he keeps forgetting how to do things. He forgot the word for refrigerator,” He asked worriedly, frowning at her. He figured she’d respond with ten times more worry, but she just smiled a bit.

“His medication just wore off is all. He’s fine, he just needs some food and some sleep,” She explained. “I felt the same way the first time it happened, but he’s okay.”

“Oh” Richie replied, nodding. “What medication? What is it for?” he asked curiously.

“Lisdexamfetamine, for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,” she replied. Richie had no idea what any of those words meant, so he just nodded and smiled, thanking her and finishing his sandwich. He rushed downstairs, ducking into the room again. Eddie was currently struggling with the pull out bed, cushions strewn around him and tugging at the handle. Richie walked over and snorted a bit, telling him to stop. He leaned over and flipped a small flat piece of metal pinning the bed into the couch, and doing the same on the other side.

“There, try again,” he said with a smile. Eddie glared at him playfully and tugged it out effortlessly.

“Not a word trashmouth,” he said, grabbing the pillows from the pile of discarded cushions and blankets, and setting them down at the head of the bed. Richie helped him put the blankets on the bed, not worrying about the sheets since there were some already on the bed. They smelled like air freshener and alcohol but they weren’t unbearable.

They crawled into the bed, Richie grabbing the controller and bringing it with. They started out just sitting beside one another, and passing the controller back and forth to play single player rounds, though it was mostly Richie playing. But soon Eddie had started to drift again. Eventually Richie had his shoulder occupied by Eddie’s head as his friend watched the screen sleepily, barely paying attention. He could feel him smile every time he won, or got a particularly good combo. So naturally he did it more, just to feel him smile against his shoulder. It worked, and it made his heart slam itself against his ribs at a thousand miles a minute. He chanced a look at Eddie when he felt him stop moving for a while, and saw that he had drifted to sleep against his shoulder. He smiled a bit at him, and watched for a brief second before carefully lowering the controller to the side. He then gently laid down, easing Eddie down with him, careful to not wake him. He seemed like he could use the sleep to be honest. 

He wrapped an arm around him, convincing himself it was just to make them both more comfortable. Though it didn’t last long. Eddie woke up, blinking groggily and shifting until his head was resting on Richie’s chest gently, falling asleep again. Richie hoped he had fallen asleep quick enough to avoid hearing his heart attack. His rapid heart rate calmed after what felt like an eternity though. His hand drifted until it was gently running through Eddie’s hair, combing through it carefully. His hair was really soft. Richie was a little upset he didn’t know it was that soft sooner.

Even with the harsh fluorescent light burning his eyes, and the fact he was still wearing jeans, he found himself slowly drifting to sleep, his hand stilling in Eddie’s hair, and gently resting on his head instead. It felt so perfect and idealistic, and he didn’t want it to end, so he tried to stay awake, but that didn’t last long and soon enough he had fallen asleep, hand tangled in Eddie’s hair as he slept with his head on Richie’s chest.


End file.
